TERMS OF REFERENCE (ToR)
Deputy Director General
Unit: Directorate
About ICIMOD
The Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region stretches 3,500km across Asia, spanning eight countries – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan. Encompassing high-altitude mountain ranges, mid-hills, and plains, the zone is vital for the food, water, and energy security of up to two billion people and is a habitat for countless irreplaceable species. It is also acutely fragile and vulnerable to the impacts of the triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss.
The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), based in Kathmandu, Nepal, is an international knowledge organisation focused on the HKH region, working since 1983 to deliver greener, more inclusive, and climate-resilient development. Our work is guided by our Strategy 2030, Medium-Term Action Plan V (2023–2026) and the associated Results Framework, and our various policies. Learn more on our website.
Position overview
The Deputy Director General (DDG) is a member of ICIMOD's Directorate and a senior management role supporting ICIMOD to deliver sustained results and measurable impact across the Hindu Kush Himalayas, in line with the vision and mission of Strategy 2030: Moving Mountains. Reporting to the Director General (DG) and working closely with the Director of Administration, Finance, and Operations (DAFO) and Senior Management Committee (SMC), the DDG is accountable for performance, quality, and delivery across ICIMOD’s climate and environment-related research-for-development portfolio, including practical solutions for green, resilient and inclusive mountain development.
The role supports Board-level governance and assurance processes; collaborates with the DG and SMC on strategic change priorities to strengthen institutional effectiveness and future fitness; and supports the DG to ensure coherence across institution-wide planning and monitoring, partnerships and regional cooperation, business development and resource mobilisation, and communications and knowledge uptake. As a visible representative of ICIMOD, the DDG engages in high-level national, regional, and global forums, navigates geopolitical complexity with sound judgment, and provides interim leadership in the Director General's absence.
Responsibilities
The responsibilities of the Deputy Director General are set out below under six objectives, each supported by practical expectations for delivery.
Objective 1: Portfolio performance and impact: Ensure coherent, high-quality, and impactful delivery of ICIMOD’s research-for-development portfolio, translating knowledge into measurable policy influence and outcomes for climate resilience, biodiversity, environmental sustainability and inclusive mountain development.
What this means in practice:
- Provide oversight and guidance to ICIMOD’s three Strategic Groups - Climate and Environment Risks, Resilient Economies and Landscapes, and Regional Action and Global Advocacy and their respective portfolios, ensuring delivery against agreed results, budgets, and milestones, with timely course-correction where performance or spending is off-track, and supported by proportionate and practical portfolio planning, budgeting, and reporting processes.
- Strengthen portfolio prioritisation, quality assurance, and problem-solving by supporting and constructively challenging Strategic Group Heads and teams on strategic choices, delivery risks, and quality.
- Ensure the portfolio remains responsive to ICIMOD’s Regional Member Countries (RMCs) needs and emerging regional and global challenges, informed by strategic foresight and periodic portfolio review.
- Enable strong collaboration and integration across the Strategic Groups, ensuring systematic attention to cross-cutting priorities –particularly Gender and Social Inclusion (GESI), climate, and biodiversity – through adoption of effective design, delivery, monitoring, and learning approaches.
- Ensure gender equality and social inclusion (GESI), including youth, are embedded as an integral dimension of portfolio quality and impact, with clear expectations, practical guidance, and accountability for implementation across Strategic Groups and partners.
Objective 2: Governance, assurance, and stewardship: Provide robust assurance on portfolio performance, risk, GESI and safeguarding, and resource allocation to support sound decision-making, accountability, and effective governance.
What this means in practice:
- Through the DG, provide strategic analysis and assurance inputs to the Board of Governors, the Programme Advisory Committee (PAC) of the Board, and ICIMOD Support Group (ISG, ICIMOD donors) processes, including high-quality papers, reports, and presentations that enable timely decisions and oversight.
- Support Board meetings and interactions through timely planning and coordination, including agenda inputs, decision-ready documentation, and follow-up on agreed actions.
- Ensure annual planning, budgeting, and progress reporting are aligned with Board and ISG needs, providing clear, decision-ready information to support oversight, accountability, and timely governance decisions.
- Ensure clear visibility of key risks, delivery issues, and performance trends, and drive timely corrective action and escalation as needed.
- Strengthen management discipline across the portfolio, ensuring compliance, transparency, and responsible stewardship of resources.
- Ensure close coordination with the Director of Administration, Finance, and Operations (DAFO) and their teams, and sit as observer to the Finance Committee of the Board, enabling sound financial and operational tracking, compliance, and effective risk management.
Objective 3: Strategic change management: Strengthen effectiveness and future fitness by improving portfolio delivery capability, results quality, outcomes and impact, management practices, and continuous learning in line with Strategy 2030.
What this means in practice:
- Support the DG in the periodic review of Strategy 2030: Moving Mountains and four-year planning cycles [Medium-Term Action Plan (MTAP)], ensuring alignment between ICIMOD’s strategic ambitions, the four-year plans, and annual work programmes.
- Drive implementation of priority change commitments set out in Strategy 2030 and the centre’s MTAP cycles, ensuring change translates into improved delivery of outcomes and impact.
- Identify and advance strategic opportunities arising from change (e.g. partnerships, innovation and digital enablement, AI, delivery models, capabilities, and efficiencies) that enhance ICIMOD’s relevance, comparative advantage, and performance.
- Promote innovation in delivery modalities, approaches, and practices, enabling responsible experimentation, learning, and scaling of effective solutions.
- Embed adaptive management to ensure continuous learning, timely adjustment, and improvement based on evidence from implementation, reviews, and evaluation.
- Work closely with SMC and the Human Resources & Organisational Development (HROD) Unit to strengthen the organisational culture, management systems, leadership practice, and organisational capabilities that underpin effective delivery.
- Engage with the Independent Evaluation Unit (IEU) to ensure that learning from independent evaluations informs portfolio and project design, and timely portfolio adjustments.
Objective 4: Systems for results, influence, partnerships, and resource mobilisation: Help ensure effective systems, standards and oversight for results management, partnerships, communications and knowledge uptake, and resource mobilisation and business development.
What this means in practice:
- Engage at senior level, as needed, with priority partners, donors and prospective funders, to position ICIMOD’s comparative advantage and investment propositions to generate new and diversified funding and strategic growth.
- Support the development of effective resource mobilisation and business development strategies and approaches for ICIMOD, including, where relevant, in support of RMC priorities and financing opportunities.
- Help strengthen governance and decision-making for business development, including pipeline prioritisation and bid/no-bid decisions, with a focus on opportunities with strong strategic fit, value-for-money, and manageable risk.
- Ensure institution-wide approaches that enable the translation of ICIMOD’s results, evidence, and learning into coherent narratives, communications priorities, and knowledge uptake pathways that strengthen credibility, influence, and use of evidence.
- Ensure partnership strategies and engagement approaches are strategically aligned with RMC needs and priorities, quality-assured, and designed to support results, regional cooperation, and long-term collaboration.
- Strengthen institutional systems for engagement with RMCs and priority international partners, ensuring consistency, quality, and follow-through.
- Support and collaborate with the DG and SMC for the implementation and periodic updating of ICIMOD’s business development and resource mobilisation strategy, ensuring priorities, targets, and accountabilities are aligned with institutional objectives.
Location
You will be working in a cross-cultural, impact-oriented environment at ICIMOD’s head office in Kathmandu, Nepal. Frequent travel in the HKH region and internationally will be required.
Kathmandu is a lively and exciting place to live. People are friendly, living costs are comparatively inexpensive, food is delicious (with a range of local and international cuisines), and there are good local and international schools and a low crime rate. Nepal offers amazing trekking trails, white-water rafting, and safaris, combined with a rich culture and a charming yet lively nightlife.
Duration
Initially, four years, with a six-month probation period. There is a possibility of an extension of up to an additional four years, subject to performance, the requirements of the position, and funding availability.
Remuneration
This is an international position at ICIMOD with a competitive and attractive salary and benefits package, which includes a basic salary, provident fund, family/post adjustment allowance, child/dependency allowances, insurances (medical, life and accidental), children’s education grant for a maximum of two (2) children below 18 years of age, severance pay, paid leave (30 holidays and 10 public holidays per year) and a child daycare facility.
Method of application
Only shortlisted candidates will be notified.
For detailed information, please check the complete version of the advert attached below.